Quartet of Bulldogs Honored with Team Awards

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's tennis team gathered Sunday night at its annual team awards banquet to honor those players who have displayed certain exceptional qualities during the 2011-12 season. The Bulldogs announced the winners of three team awards.

Senior captain Erik Blumenkranz was awarded the James A. Hutchinson '96 Award. This award goes to the player who has done the most for tennis at Yale by way of his sportsmanship and co-operative spirit. Blumenkranz is a four-year member of the varsity team and three-time ITA Scholar Athlete (2011-12 awards have not yet been released). Blumenkranz has been an instrumental figure in singles for the Bulldogs, playing primarily at the No. 4 position this season. Blumenkranz has also proven himself to be an exceptional doubles player in his time at Yale. This season, he went 13-10 in doubles, which brings his all-time doubles record as a Bulldog to 67-48.

The George A. Phelps '95 Memorial Award, which goes to whomever has shown the greatest improvement during the year, went to two players, sophomore Patrick Chase and junior John Huang. Chase and Huang made up Yale's No. 2 doubles team for much of the latter part of the season. The dynamic tandem posted a 12-5 record and went on a seven-match winning streak during the middle of the season. Their winning ways proved crucial in a season that saw the Elis win the doubles point in 17 out of 24 matches.

In addition to his improvement in doubles, Huang also made a statement this season as one of the Bulldogs' most consistent and reliable singles players. Huang rotated between the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions in singles, but played at No. 1 throughout most of the Ivy League season. His season record stands at 18-4, which includes a winning streak of nine straight-set matches. Huang was also undefeated at home this season.

Sophomore Kyle Dawson rounds out this year's winners of the team awards. Dawson was awarded the Stuart D. Ludlum, Jr. '62 Memorial Award, which is given to the player who exhibits the qualities of enthusiasm, perseverance and team spirit. In addition to being an energetic and hard-working No. 5 singles player for the Bulldogs, Dawson could always be counted upon to give vocal support to his teammates.

The election of the team captain for the 2012-13 season will take place on Tuesday afternoon at 5:15 p.m.